[5] The species name for the permit, falcatus, is a Latin adjective, which roughly means "armed with scythes".

[3] "Permit", the common name, may be an irregular borrowing from Spanish palometa, probably from a Doric variant of Ancient Greek πηλαμύς (pēlamús, “young tuna”).

Permit tails are also deeply forked, and their bodies are compressed laterally, making the fish tall and thin when viewed from the front.

[7] The permit fish can reach a maximum length of 122 cm and can weigh up to 36 kg, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Permit are found in the western Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Brazil, including most of the Caribbean islands.